French Fries from a Fleishig Restaurant

Does one need to wait six hours before eating dairy?

WHEN ONE EATS a pareve food prepared on meat equipment, the general rule is that no waiting period is required before eating dairy. Although such food may not be eaten together with dairy, it may be eaten soon after.

However, French fries are different. If they are deep-fried in oil that is also used for meat items such as schnitzel, the fries are not merely “made on meat equipment”. They are halachically considered as if they are cooked together with the meat through shared oil. This gives the French fries the status of tavshil shel basar — a meat dish — rather than a pareve item made on meat utensils.

A classic example of tavshil shel basar is the potatoes in a cholent that contains meat. Even if one  eats only the potatoes, one has eaten food cooked with meat. Similarly, fries cooked in oil used for meat absorb actual meat flavor and are considered a true meat dish.

The Rema (Yoreh De’ah 89:3) rules that the custom is to wait six hours after eating a tavshil shel basar before consuming dairy. Accordingly, one who eats French fries from a meat restaurant waits six hours before eating dairy. The Shach adds a qualification: if a pareve food was cooked in a pot that had not been cleaned properly and had meat residue left on it, one need not wait six hours. Some have therefore argued that fries cooked in oil previously used for meat could be similar.  However, this leniency is difficult to apply. First, the Shach’s position itself is subject to debate, and second, it is questionable whether the case of French fries is truly comparable. Most authorities rule that such fries are considered a genuine tavshil shel basar, which requires a six-hour wait.

Safeik

The above applies when it is known that the same fryer and oil are used for meat and fries. But what if one is unsure?

Although one might argue for leniency — since (1) waiting six hours after tavshil shel basar is only a minhag and (2) there are minority opinions that French fries are not tavshil shel basar — in practice, this is not considered a true safeik.

It is very common for the same fryer and oil to be used for both meat and fries. Separate pareve fryers are rare. Therefore, halachically, we must assume the typical case — that the fries share oil with meat — and treat them as tavshil shel basar.

Conclusion

In practice, one should wait six hours after eating French fries from a meat restaurant before eating dairy. If, however, it is verified with the mashgiach that the fries are made in a dedicated pareve fryer with separate oil, they remain fully pareve, and no waiting period is required.